A budget calendar is key to the success of  anyone looking to set themselves up for financial success. This option for a personal budgeting tool allows you to track your income and expenses, making it easier to see where your money is going each month. Also, having everything tracked on a calendar makes it clear and intuitive where your money is going and easy to see how you can set goals for the future using a powerful online budgeting tool     .

Budget Calendars Explained

A budget calendar is a tool anyone can use to take control of their finances. This type of a personal budgeting tool allows you to track your income and expenses in a way that makes sense to see where your money goes each month. You can easily see how much money you have coming in, what your regular expenses are, and where you can make changes to save money. You can also see where your high and low balances will be in the month.

This tool works by having you input your income and expenses for the month onto the budget calendar. You will want to include all sources of income, such as your paycheck, any freelance work, or money from side hustles, and then add in  your expenses too. Once you have all of your income and expenses entered, the budget calendar will give  you a visual of exactly where your money is going by break them down by category. The high and low balances and category budgets will help you set goals for saving and investing and help you stay on track to achieve them.

Why Use a Budget Calendar?

There are many personal budgeting tools available, so you may be wondering why you should use a budget calendar. The answer is that this tool offers a few key advantages that can help you take control of your finances.

First, using a budget calendar makes it easy to track your income and expenses. This is because everything is entered into one place, on a familiar layout, a calendar. This means that you can see exactly where your money went over the course of a month, and how much you have coming in each month. You can then avoid paying bills in the low dips to avoid overdraft and late fees.

Second, having everything on a budget calendar makes it easy to set goals. If you want to save up for a specific purchase or other savings goals     , you can easily see how much money you will need to set aside each month and see when in the future you will have enough saved. This is because the budget calendar shows you exactly where your money is going and how much is left over after all expenses are paid, plus it projects your account balances based on your current spending patterns.

Lastly, a budget calendar can help you design a budget that works for you. This is because you can see all of your income and expenses in one place, and then easly make changes to keep more money in your pocket. For example, if you want to save up for a down payment on a house, or pay down debt, you can easily adjust your budget by moving expenses around, or decreasing or eliminating unnecessary expenses to make this happen .

How to Set Up Your Budget Calendar

Now that you know why a budget calendar is important, let’s take a look at how to set yours up     . This personal budgeting tool is actually very easy to get started and only requires a few simple steps.

First, you will need to gather your income and expense information for at least the past month. If you’re feeling ambitious, it’s be even better to gather information for the past 3 months. This includes your paychecks, any freelance work, side hustle income, and all of your expenses. Be sure to include both fixed costs like rent or a car payment as well as variable costs like groceries or entertainment.

Next, input each transaction into CalendarBudget. Start with the 30 day free trial so you can get a feel for how it will work for you. As you are entering all of your income and expenses, assign each transaction to a meaningful category to help you understand how much you are spending on things like groceries, your house, or car. Have a good look at all of your transactions to understand your spending patterns. See if you can eliminate any unnecessary expenses. Set your most recent entry of each typical transaction to repeat for the next few years to project how much money should be in your account on any day in the future. Set category budget goals, and use them to make wise spending decisions for a better financial future.

Last, you will need to maintain your budget calendar each month. This means updating it with your income and expense information so that you can see where your money is going and make changes when necessary. For example, if you get a raise at work, you may want to increase your savings goals and change spending patterns by category.

What Should Be Included in Your Budget Calendar?

Now that you know how to set up your  budget on a calendar, let’s take a look at what should be included in your budget. The things you should include in your budget calendar include:

  • Your income: This includes your paycheck, any freelance work, or money from side hustles     
  • Your expenses: Be sure to include both fixed costs like rent or a car payment as well as variable costs like groceries or entertainment     
  • Your goals: Use the budget calendar to set savings goals so that you can easily see how much you need to set aside each month to reach those goals     
  • Your category budgets: This is the most important part of your budget calendar. Use it to see exactly where your money is going and set realistic amounts for each ctegory to make wise decisions for a better financial future.

How to Maintain Your Budget Calendar

Once you have set up your budget on a calendar, it is important to maintain it each month. This means updating it with your income and expenses as they happen so you can see where your money is going and stay current with your financial well being.

Who Will Benefit from a Budget Calendar?

Now that you know how to set up your budget on a calendar and what should be included in yours, let’s take a look at who will benefit from using one. Typically, people who are struggling to save money or stick to a budget will find the most success with a budget calendar. It really helps to break the cycle of living paycheck-to-paycheck, eliminate debt faster, and to build your savings.

If you are someone who is always overspending or find yourself with very little money left at the end of the month, a budget calendar can help you get your finances back on track, by seeing where your money is going each month, and you can make adjustments to ensure that you are spending within your means.

Get a Budget Calendar from CalendarBudget     

If you are looking for an online budgeting tool to help you get started, CalendarBudget offers a great option. With our budget calendar, you can easily track your income and expenses, set goals, and make adjustments to ensure that you are on track for financial success. Get started today with a free trial and take control of your finances!